SOMERSET — Somerset Berkley Regional High School has been without a school resource officer for about a month after the prior officer was disciplined for inappropriate conduct, but a lead school official said he expects that role to be filled this month.

“I’m told we’ll have one in the next week or two,” interim Superintendent Thomas Lynch said.

Lynch said he and regional school board Chairman Richard Peirce met Friday with police Chief Joseph Ferreira and Capt. Stephen Moniz about a replacement.

Lynch did not know who would be named to the officer’s role, serving as a liaison between high school students, school staff and administration and with the police department.

Patrolman Brian Dempsey, a five-year town officer who held the post for the past 1½ years, was placed on administrative leave Feb. 10 after a female student who graduated in June 2013 filed a complaint. A one-week internal police investigation ensued.

Ferreira removed Dempsey from the position on Feb. 18 and gave him an immediate five-day suspension, the maximum time the chief can suspend on his own without a hearing involving the Board of Selectmen.

Neither selectmen nor Town Administrator Dennis Luttrell have made comments about the case, and there were no indications from board agendas it was discussed in executive session.

Ferreira subsequently said he assigned Dempsey to 80 hours of work time for the department without pay, and there may have been other sanctions levied he was not able to disclose under personnel confidentiality laws.

Ferreira said in a Feb. 18 interview after he took those actions he was posting the job of school resource officer — a full-time assignment — and expected it to be filled within two weeks. Ferreira did not return phone messages left for him Wednesday.

Officials confirmed the situation that led to the complaint and suspension had to do with sexting messages the officer allegedly sent to the female student.

“It was highly and extremely inappropriate for a person put in a position of trust to be doing to a student. It’s just unacceptable,” Lynch had told The Herald News.

Lynch said Wednesday he had heard nothing further about that situation. “I have not received any phone calls or emails about it.”

Asked if he was satisfied with the timetable for replacing the school resource officer, Lynch said, “Yes,” and added, “It hasn’t caused any difficulty at all.”

Ferreira asserted the actions were not criminal and specified there were no photos, physical contact or underage drinking involved.

He said each case and the officer’s history on the force are taken into account individually to determine appropriate levels of discipline. He said that was done in this case.